Luxury Cauliflower Cheese

If you are fed up with boring old cauliflower cheese, give this a try it is delic.........

Ingredients

• 225 g (8 oz) leeks, sliced
• 175 g (6 oz) carrots, diced
• 450 g (1 lb) cauliflower florets (or you can use half cauli and half broccoli if you like)
  
• 300 ml (10 fl oz) milk
• 50 g (2 oz) any type blue cheese
• 25 g (1 oz) cornflour
• 50 g (2 oz) grated cheese (whatever you have in the fridge)
• 2 tsp chives
• 1 tsp mustard (I use Dijon but use any you have)
• salt and ground black pepper

Topping

• 25g (1oz) grated cheese
• 15 g (1/2 oz) fresh wholemeal breadcrumbs

Method

1. Cook the leeks, carrots and cauliflower in a large saucepan of lightly salted, boiling water for 5 minutes.
   
2. Meanwhile, gently heat the milk, cornflour and cheese together, whisking all the time until smooth. When the milk and cheese mixture is almost boiling, turn heat down and cook, stirring, until you have a thick and smooth sauce. Add chives, mustard and seasoning and stir well.
3. Transfer the drained vegetables to a flameproof dish and pour over the sauce. Mix together the grated cheese and breadcrumbs and sprinkle over the top. Grill under a medium heat for 2-3 minutes until the topping is bubbling and golden. Serve at once.

Japanese Egg Fried Rice - Benihana Styleee

When a 20 year old Rocky Aoki arrived in New York City from Japan in 1959 he was convinced it was the land of opportunity. Just five years later he took the $10,000 he had saved plus another $20,000 that he borrowed and opened a Benihana steakhouse on the West side of Manhattan.

His ground breaking idea to bring the chefs out from the kitchen to prepare the food in front of customers (on specially designed hibachi grills) was an instant hit. The restaurant was such a success that it paid for itself within six months.

Here's a recipe for egg fried rice just like that served at Benihana, prepared by chefs with pre-cooked rice on those open hibachi grills.

Serves: 4
Ingredients:

• 4 cups cooked rice (long grain)
• 1 cup frozen peas (thawed)
• 2 tablespoons carrot (grated or chopped)
• 2 eggs, beaten
• 1/2 cup diced onion
• 1 1/2 tablespoons butter
• 2 tablespoons soy sauce
• Salt & Pepper to taste

1. Cook the rice following the instructions on package. Pour the cooked rice into a large bowl and allow it to cool in the refrigerator.

2. Scramble the eggs in a wok or pan over a medium heat. Separate the scrambled chunks of egg into small, pea-sized bits while cooking.

3. When the rice has cooled to near room temperature, add the peas, carrot, scrambled egg and diced onion to the bowl and gently toss all of the ingredients together.

4. Melt 1 1/2 tablespoons of butter in a large frying pan over medium/high heat until completely melted and add the bowl of rice and other ingredients into the pan.

5. Add the soy sauce plus the salt and pepper and cook the rice for 6-8 minutes over heat, stirring regularly. Serve.

Serving suggestion.

This rice makes a great meal on it's own but it can also be served as an excellent accompaniment to our delicious Chicken Teriyaki recipe.